Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Hosea 6,1-6

Come, let us return to Yahweh. He has rent us and he will heal us; he has struck us and he will bind up our wounds; after two days he will revive us, on the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know Yahweh; that he will come is as certain as the dawn. He will come to us like a shower, like the rain of springtime to the earth. What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? For your love is like morning mist, like the dew that quickly disappears. This is why I have hacked them to pieces by means of the prophets, why I have killed them with words from my mouth, why my sentence will blaze forth like the dawn- for faithful love is what pleases me, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The path of conversion and return to the Lord does not come from us, perhaps from the desire for personal perfection. Already in the decision to return to God there is the knowledge that it is the Lord who saves, heals, sustains, and that his judgement is one of forgiveness, not condemnation. This certainty accompanies those who repent of sin. The prophet then seems to indicate the need for a path. Forgiveness and healing itself are not something automatic, they require a progression, a journey made up of awareness, examination, decisions to be made, habits to be left behind. We could say that this is what we have been invited to do during the time of Lent. The text speaks of two days of waiting and then the third day to get up and set out on a new path. In the spiritual tradition of the Church we can find many indications to this effect. Conversion is not an instantaneous fact but, indeed, an itinerary that unfolds over days. The prophet says: "Let us press to know the Lord, his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth" (v. 3). It is to say that we cannot delay, we cannot waste time, nor delay. This is the right time. There is an urgency to change hearts because the Gospel must be proclaimed, because the poor are waiting, because the world needs a word of hope. It is not important then to be perfect, but to be missionary, to feel the expectation of change for oneself and for the world. In this sense, personal conversion has an inescapable community and social dimension. One does not convert simply to secure one's salvation; one converts to the Lord to walk with him along the ways of the world preaching the Gospel and healing every sickness and infirmity.